保证
bǎozhèng · HSK 3
guarantee
🤝 保 = protect + 证 = certify; together: a certified protection, i.e. a guarantee
保 means to protect or guard (person + fortress radical). 证 means to certify or prove (speech radical + 正 'correct'). Combined, 保证 is a guarded, certified statement — a pledge or guarantee.
保 — person 亻 + 呆 (child/protect phonetic)
Originally an ideograph showing an adult carrying a child on the back, meaning to protect or shield. The right side 呆 evolved from a depiction of a swaddled infant. Over time the meaning broadened from 'protect a child' to 'preserve, guarantee, keep safe.'
证 — speech radical 讠 + 正 (correct/upright)
证 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals it relates to words or testimony, while 正 (zhèng, 'upright/correct') gives the sound and hints at 'verifying truth.' Originally written 證, it meant to testify or prove; today it means evidence, certificate, or to prove.